Stuff I Write About Music

Reviews, interviews, critical assessment, features and more. Way more.

• Here you'll find pieces reprinted from my regular "Bootleg Bin" column in SKOPE Magazine, where they were published in print and/or online. The goal of the "Bootleg Bin" column is to review and thus expose notable recordings from the underground...live shows, studio outtakes, aborted project and the like. Artists here include The Fabulous Poodles, Jason Falkner, Guided by Voices, Jazz Butcher, John Lennon, Love, Kirsty MacColl, The Long Ryders, Graham Parker, Priory of Brion, Procol Harum, Rolling Stones, Spirit, Teenage Fanclub, Tubes, Zero 7, The Remains, Television, a multi-disc set from the 1969 Actuel Festival in Amougies Belgium, and more.

• I also conduct features and interviews with popular musicians. These include interviews with Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy, Dustin Kensrue of Thrice, Ed Harris of Lake Trout, Australia's The Veronicas, West Virginia rockers American Minor, Steven Drozd of The Flaming Lips, Joe Satriani, Stacie Rose, a feature on the Legendary Pink Dots' 25th Anniversary tour, and more. Coming soon: features on deSol, The Fever, and Aberdeen City, plus interviews with -- get this -- powerpop icon Tommy Keene and Jethro Tull's leader, Ian Anderson. There's always more to come.

• If that's not enough, I've penned career-spanning looks at Todd Rundgren and Pink Floyd, and author reviews of current audio/video releases by The MC5, the Walk The Line Soundtrack, Randy and the Bloody Lovelies, Hayseed Dixie, Isaac Hayes, Sucka Brown, rapper BG aka B. Gizzle, Los Lobos, a tribute to The Fuzztones (coming soon), Darin Schaffer (coming soon), Under the Influence of Giants (coming soon) and... (huff, puff) there's always more.

• Not yet online: In connection with my book-in-progress I have also lined up interviews with Bill Spooner (founder of The Tubes), Brian Godding (Blossom Toes) and may be publishing a few interviews from my personal archives, including ones with Bill Bartolin (Blue Ash), Mike de Albuquerque (ELO) and Ken Brown (The Quarrymen, later known as...well, you know).

• Sadly never to be: I had been in regular contact with Vince Welnick (The Tubes, Grateful Dead) and had planned to conduct an extensive interview with him when our schedules allowed. The tragic news of his recent death put an end to that. Also, I recently contacted The Roches to request an interview in connection with the book, and received this terse reply from Suzzy Roche: "The recordings that you are interested in are illegal tapes that people made and distributed. I wish you would not write about them." C'est la vie.

• And finally, at the risk of wearing out my welcome, here's a link to some pieces I wrote just because they needed to be written. Or so I thought.

Coming Soon